Multiple Myeloma… Sandra’s Story

I reached the age of 62 with no major health issues at all.

The only times I had spent in hospital were for the birth of my 2 daughters. I suppose like many people I took my good health for granted and adopted the ‘it will never happen to me’ attitude.

I have worked in the financial services industry for almost 25 years and know the importance of having financial protection in place, but I kept putting it off convinced that ‘it would never happen to me’. I should have known better.

After contracting Covid in March 2022, I became quite ill and suffered horrendous fatigue. I really struggled to carry out everyday tasks, and the condition was initially blamed on ‘post Covid fatigue’. However, after having a blood test, it was discovered that my kidneys were failing and were only functioning at 2%. I was admitted to hospital where I was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a type of blood cancer which had damaged my kidneys.

I had 6 months of chemotherapy and my cancer is now in remission but regular blood tests are required to check that it hasn’t reared its ugly head again. My consultant hoped that with treatment, my kidneys would start to work again, but sadly this did not happen, so I am now faced with spending 12 hours each week hooked up to a dialysis machine for the rest of my life.